


(Fire) Escape

by wdywfme



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic, Sad, This is terrible, joshler - Freeform, only for one night though, twenty one pilots - Freeform, tyler runs away, while they're on tour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4624056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wdywfme/pseuds/wdywfme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler has a bad day while they're on tour, the voices in his head get too much for him and he runs away in a city he doesn't know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Fire) Escape

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first thing I've ever written (except for like essays for school) and I've worked really hard on it but yeah it's probably not the best thing you've ever read but please don't judge me thx
> 
> Also, English is not my first language so let me know if I made any mistakes so I can correct them :)

It was late at night in the middle of November and Tyler was walking, no, running around in a city he didn't know. He didn't know where he was or where he was going, but he did know that he needed to keep running.

An hour earlier, he was sitting on one of the couches in the main area of their tour bus, waiting for Josh, who was still in the venue they'd just played at. The show had gone well. The people in the audience had been very enthusiastic while they performed their songs and they had freaked out even more when he and Josh played their cover of Mad World. Tyler wasn't even disappointed in himself like he sometimes was after a show on bad days, but he still didn't feel okay. He wanted to cry or scream, but he held it in telling himself that he would be okay when Josh got there. 

What he didn't expect was his whole crew to join him and Josh on the bus that evening. When they all suddenly (and very loudly) walked into his bus he froze. Don't get him wrong, he liked the people he worked with, he really did. He just didn't like to be around people _all the time_ , and definitely not when he was having a bad day. He also didn't feel like explaining himself to everyone. No one except for Josh even knew he still had bad days. Josh was the last one to get on the bus. He was laughing at something someone said to him, but when his eyes met Tyler's and saw the panic in them he went from looking happy to concerned and Tyler thought he also saw a hint of guilt. That made him feel guilty as well. Josh shouldn't have to deal with his shit all the time, he thought to himself. It was selfish. That's why he forced himself to smile when he saw Josh walking towards him, even though Josh knew him better than that and probably knew that it was fake. 

"Hey Ty, are you okay?" He asked over the loud noise of the other men in the small room talking and laughing. 

"Y-Yeah man, everything's cool." Josh didn't look convinced at his reply but Tyler couldn't get himself to smile anymore. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Josh reached out to put his hand on Tyler's arm, which made it clear that he didn't believe him, but Tyler flinched and quickly made up an excuse about having forgotten something in the venue. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay in the bus any longer without having a panic attack so he walked past Josh and made his way out of the crowded place. He hadn't heard Josh calling his name over the voices in his head screaming at him to get as far away from where he was right now. He started running.

That's how he ended up in the middle of the unknown city. After running for about 10 minutes, he finally stopped, leaning against the wall of the nearest building, trying his hardest to block out the voices in his head and catch his breath at the same time. He could see his breath when he exhaled, that's how cold it was outside. Even though he was wearing a sweater and a beanie, he still cursed himself for not grabbing a jacket on his way out of the bus. The voices in his head were still there but he had managed to calm down enough to start walking again. He had an idea where he could go, it was somwehere he wouldn't need a map for to know where it was. Luckily he didn't see a lot of people on his way, because there were mostly apartment buildings where he was walking, and not bars or clubs. He covered his hands with the sleeves of his sweater and wrapped his arms around himself. He still felt very panicky and also really small in this big city. He kept walking until he reached the highest building he could see, which had about 30 floors. It had a fire escape staircase, so it was perfect for what Tyler had in mind. He started climbing the stairs, stopping ever so often to calm himself down enough to go on, until he reached the 26th floor. When he got there he sat down against the wall and took in the view. He could look over a big part of city from up there, since almost every other building was smaller than the one he was on, and by looking at the lights beneath him and listening to the sounds of life being so far away from him, he finally felt like he could breathe again.

Meanwhile, Josh had been worried sick. When Tyler hadn't returned after 20 minutes, he had looked for him in the venue and around the parking lot but didn't find him anywhere. He had checked the other buses and asked everyone he saw if they had seen him, but no one had. So when he got back on the bus, and found that everyone else had gone back to their own bus, he called and texted Tyler a lot. But of course Tyler didn't answer his phone either.

To: Tyler. 23:58  
Ty, where are you? I can't find you, please text or call me

To: Tyler. 00:01  
I'm worried

To: Tyler. 00:05  
Talk to me 

To: Tyler. 00:12  
Don't do anything you will regret

To: Tyler. 00:29  
Where are you???

He tried calling him again. No answer. He rubbed his face tiredly and let out a groan of frustration. Why can't Tyler just come back so they can talk and sleep. And maybe cuddle. Please.

Tyler had been sitting on the staircase for twenty minutes now, and he was starting to turn into an ice cube. At least, that's how he felt. He couldn't stop his teeth from clattering and he kept blowing air on his hands to try to keep them warm (and failing). He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to get back to the buses, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to go back. He was afraid that his crew would still be there because then _if_ he got back, all his efforts to calm down would have been for nothing, since he still felt like he could get a full on panic attack. He thought about calling Josh (and shivered when he thought about how warm Josh always was), and even though he didn't want to bother Josh, this felt like the best option right now. He frowned when he saw how many messages Josh had left him, because he should have been having a good time with the crew, not worry about Tyler. He was relieved to see Josh had texted him two minutes ago though, because that meant he was probably still close to his phone and that he could answer quickly. 

Josh picked up after two seconds. 

"TY oh my god where are you? I was looking for you everywhere are you okay Ty where are you?" Josh rambled, relief washing through him.

"J-osh I'm o-on a really h-high bui-lding, n the f-fire escape s-stairs an-d I'm c-c-old." Tyler tried to explain to Josh as best as he could.

"Which building? I'll come and get you okay?" Josh replied without hesitation. 

After Tyler explained to him exactly where he was, Josh grabbed Tyler's jacket and ran down the streets, actually remembering where he was going, unlike Tyler, till he saw (what he thought was) the building Tyler had been talking about. He hoped this was indeed the one Tyler meant, because it would be kind of stupid to climb up till the 26th floor of a building for his friend, only to find out it had been the wrong one. 

Tyler was about to fall asleep when Josh finally got to him, but he could hear his sigh of relief and the small "Oh Tyler..." he let out, which made him open his eyes. Josh's cheeks were flushed from running in the cold, he was wearing a big sweater (which might just have been Tyler's) and a jacket. He also brought another jacket, which Tyler recognized as his own. 

"Josh, I'm s-sorry," Tyler said, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, while still shaking from the cold. 

"For what?" Josh asked softly, while sitting down next to him and putting Tyler's jacket over his shoulders, wrapping an arm around him as well. Tyler was so cold, but he visibly relaxed at Josh's actions and lay his head on Josh's shoulder. Tyler was grateful for having such an amazing friend (and for his warmth). He didn't answer for a minute or two, waiting till he was a bit warmer before he replied,

"I'm sorry for running away and for bothering you with my problems so much and for having you come here at 1 at night and I'm just- ugh, please don't hate me?" 

"Ty, I could never hate you. You know that. And all I want is for you to be happy. I don't care what time it is, I'll be there for you if you're not okay. Just.. If you feel like this again, talk to me. Okay? I was so worried," Josh said, and then he pressed a kiss to Tyler's head (if he wasn't warm already, he would be now). 

"I just felt like I was going insane and I needed to get out, I- The- This i-," In stead of finishing his sentence, he buried his head in Josh's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. He tried to be okay, he _should_ be okay, now Josh was here, but he couldn't stop the tears from escaping his eyes for the first time that night. But Josh understood. He always did. He held Tyler tightly, and whispered to him that it was okay. After a few minutes, Tyler actually felt better. It felt good to finally let his emotions out. He gripped Josh's sweater in his fists and let out a few shaky breaths before finally looking up into Josh's eyes again. "Thank you."

Josh smiled at him and was brave enough to press another kiss to his forehead, to which Tyler closed his eyes and smiled. They weren't dating, even though everyone always thought they were, but they had been doing this thing (where they cuddled and gave each other kisses more than normal best friends did) for a few weeks now, obviously both totally cool with it. (They hadn't properly kissed yet, but they knew it would happen sooner or later)

"Do you feel okay now?" Josh asked, looking at Tyler as if he could read the answer on his face.

"Yeah," Tyler replied.

Josh looked for a sign that might have been there if he was lying, but couldn't find it. "Good," he whispered. "This city looks really pretty from up here," he added. They sat there for a while longer just talking, giggling, cuddling. Tyler didn't feel like he was going crazy anymore, and he wasn't cold either. The voices in his head had stopped (for now). Josh was there. His heartbeat was still going slightly too fast, but with a different reason now. 

When they thought they were getting too tired to wait with walking back to their bus any longer, they got up and walked all the 26 floors back down. Back on the ground, Josh grabbed Tyler's hand and lead him back to their bus. It was a silent walk, but not awkward or uncomfortable. When they got back on the bus, they quickly changed clothes, and then Josh slid into his bunk after Tyler, who immediately cuddled up to him. Josh put his arm around Tyler's waist while Tyler let out a content sigh, pressing his face in Josh's neck and leaning up to kiss his jaw. "Goodnight Josh," he mumbled, before quickly drifting off to sleep. 

"Goodnight Ty," Josh replied quietly, "I love you."

**Author's Note:**

> btw this was based on a picture I saw on tumblr of two dudes chillin on a fire escape staircase. cool.
> 
>  
> 
> Stay alive |-/


End file.
